Mutterings of a Mad Woman

The plan was to do a quick blog and then get on with the day. If that was my intent, I never should have chosen Eliza Gauger as my subject.

Upon arrival to her website you're greeted with the illusion of an E drive command/shell window secretly acting as her navigation menu.

I wish the command prompt worked because it reminds me of War Operation Plan Response (is a War Games reference too obscure these days?). I'm almost convinced if I type in Global Thermonuclear War the computer will speak to me and ask if I'd rather play a game of chess.

I think I just met my nerd-quota for the day.

Eliza is an artist who dabbles in both oil and acrylic, digital paintings, and photographs. First and foremost she seems to consider herself an illustrator. I use the word seems because trying to find straightforward answers in regard to her personal bio can be challenging, though she is present across the Web.

The folks over at thetoyzone.com are onto something. They've offered their readers $100 each for any worthy My Little Pony upgrade.

Johnny Depp gets three reincarnations: one as Edward Scissorhands (posted left), one as Captain Jack Sparrrow, and one as Cry Baby.

There are numerous Star Wars themed ponies that have made the cut (and for good reason. The Chewbacca transformation cracks me up, and the Boba Fett pony is plain wonderful. The My Little Solo in Carbonite deserves a special nod as well).

You'll also find a collection of super heroes & villains, and a few Disney characters like Jack Skellington and Sally (posted below).

Looking for something a little more creepy-classic? How about My Little Cthulhu (also posted)?

According to the Twin Peaks plotline, Laura Palmer died on February 24, 1989. That would be twenty years ago tomorrow.

Though the series finale (and most of the second season) left much to be desired, Twin Peaks remains near and dear to my heart.

I still cringe every time I think of the closing scene: I can hear Doppleganger Coop saying "How's Annie?" and the pulsating black-tar-mass-of-hate turns in my stomach. A pox on David Lynch for leaving the series to falter, and then swooping back in for the last episode to give it a non-ending.

After visiting the doctor and having 9 tubes of blood samples taken (a personal record. And all I kept thinking was "wow...so much blood and not a prop in sight"), I decided to stick with a personal post-doctor-visit tradition and treat myself to something.

What kind of treat is best when you're a bit woozy from blood loss? Booze, of course.

Turns out they didn't have what I wanted in stock. Disheartened but not undetermined I circled the aisles for an alternative. That's when I spotted the Hobgoblin gift set.

Now I'm not crazy about the taste of Wychwood's dark ale, but I was drawn to the pretty canister. I couldn't find a price tag, but decided what the heck and snatched one of the last four left on the shelf.

I was in for a surprise at the register when the gentleman behind the counter wanted less than $7.00 from me. Really? For the beer, the glass and the canister? Wonderful!

Yetch is obsessed with Twitter. Today I finally gave in to his badgering and signed up. Now you can follow me on Twitter as well. Read the scattered thoughts that aren't coherent enough to be included in a blog! Be dazzled by the amount of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors I make in under 140 characters!

Ironically, moments after I signed up (the deciding factor being it might get the website some more exposure) I got a notice from my service provider that GhoulFriday.com might go down tonight for a couple of hours. Perfect.

So how has it gone so far with Twitter? I am following 2 bloggers I often read, 2 friends I know in real life, a fellow haunter and Darth Vader. I added Archie Mcphee (who I've mentioned before) a couple of minutes ago. Lastly, I am following a Dark Sith and a Pirate, since they were kind enough to add me first and make it look like I might have interesting things to say.

To mindless procrastination online!

p.s. Had to adjust the happy white twitter bird before I used it on the site. I think he looks better as a crow on an autumn branch, don't you?

If I had to pick my favourite artist in the last few years, I think it would be Camille Rose Garcia. I look at the artwork and everything goes silent. My thoughts are still. I am simply absorbing everything on the page.

The characters are dripping, drowning, coated in misery while maintaining beauty.

I generally don't buy art books, but I buy Garcia's. And I can't wait until her toy company PITCO is launched.

From her biography:

Camille Rose Garcia was born in 1970 in Los Angeles, California and grew up in the generic suburbs of Orange County, visiting Disneyland and going to punk shows with the other disenchanted youth of that era. Her paintings of creepy cartoon children living in wasteland fairy tales are critical commentaries on the failures of capitalist utopias. Creative influences include Phillip K. Dick, William Burroughs, Henry Darger,Walt Disney, as welll as politically aware bands like The Clash and Dead Kennedys. Her recent solo show, Ultraviolenceland, explored ideas of violence and empire.

This is the image that caught my eye several months ago on Haunt Space while clicking through the community gallery. According to the owner's profile, there was a website that housed her work but it was currently under construction.

Just last month, www.thezombified.com was brought back to life. Finally, I'd have a chance to explore.

There are four main Horror Girls characters: the Zombie (pictured right), the Mummy, the Vampire and the Bride. All of them are drawn in black and white and have that classic cute cartoon style - the kind I associate with stories and comic books of my youth.

As it turns out, the artist Krystal Fancey Beck (aka the elusive Zombie) does create a comic called Hallowhaus. At this time, there are two issues printed and ready for purchase. Krystal was kind enough to send me copies of each, so let me tell you a bit about them.

I'm not sure how to best describe the work of this artist from the Netherlands. It's a mix of vintage cartooning meets the style of modern vinyl designer toys. Perhaps pop surrealism. Whatever it is, I like it.

For those of you who might want to see her work in person, she's currently exhibiting in the States. Femke has also published in a few interesting books including Beasts 2 (to learn more, you can read the interview on www.comicbookresources.com) where she teams up with another artist I like by the name of Travis Lampe.

While Travis doesn't do many pieces that would fit the theme of this website, he did create the trick or treater painting seen at the end of this post.